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Gunnison Gorge trip beta?

5.6K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  jgrebe  
#1 ·
Does anyone have info on running the Gunnison Gorge (below the black canyon)?

I read the BLM brochure( Link )and American whitewater write up. Just curious how accurate the ratings are, and if it's worth the hike in. I ran my first IV (royal gorge) last week so III/III+ is still plenty exciting for me.

It looks like they were releasing from blue mesa at 600 cfs in August. Could be a fun late season run?

Planning on kayaking it FWIW
 
#4 ·
I’d second scouting Boulder Garden and Cable. Probably scout the squeeze as well. Everything else is pretty much read and run.

Did it last weekend R2. Hit the water around 0900 and was off the water by 2:00.

The worst thing about that run is the shuttle…it’s pretty slow going, and can add a lot of time to your day.

The hike in isn’t too bad if you’re not heavily loaded. I carried my Star Slice down there in less than 45 min.

My favorite way to do it is drive in in the evening, hike stuff down, hike back to the rim and camp. Hike down the next day and do the run in one day.
 
#6 ·
Sounds good. Thanks for the info. My main concern with the ratings was that it was really a bunch of II+ rapids and potentially not worth the hassle. But, it sounds like that's not an issue.

It also looks like a good way to made it a 2 day adventure would be to MTB shuttle it via sidewinder trail. Although that could just make more hassle.

I was also planning on doing it in my full slice boat to make the hike down a bit easier.